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$5 Off State Fair Coupon Packages The State Fair of Texas begins on Sept. 30, but it's never too early to think about getting ready! Right now, you can save $5 off food and ride coupon packs by using the coupon code DMCOUPON5 at checkout....

Free Gift from Tiny Prints Through Tuesday, August 9, Tiny Prints is offering your choice of two free gifts: One notebook or one 5x7 easel art. Use the code PICKONE at checkout to get your freebie. A small shipping fee will apply....

Hawaiian Falls Tickets - Now Cheaper Than Ever Time to start planning your end-of-summer hurrah! AdPages has just put out a new, even cheaper deal on their Hawaiian Falls admissions - just $60 for a pack of 4, which works out to $15 per ticket. Previous...

Free 8x10 From Walgreens From now through Aug. 2, Walgreens is offering a free 8x10 enlargement to all customers. Simply enter the code FREEDEAL731 at checkout to get this special offer.
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Going to Sundance Square anytime soon? Stop into Piranha Killer Sushi at 335 W. 3rd St. downtown and get a free appetizer or dessert. You will need a coupon; click here to get it. (Sorry – the company has requested that we take down the link to this coupon. We’ll return the favor by simply not promoting their specials on this site anymore.) According to the fine print, no additional purchase is required, but you must present a valid ID and the offer is limited to one per table.

You don’t have to be a sushi lover to enjoy the food at Piranha’s. As far as appetizers go, they have steamed edamame, jalapeno poppers, crab cakes and more. Desserts include tempura cheesecake, a “tower of chocolate,” and banana spring rolls.See the menu here.

To receive the Piranha Newsletter and get special offers in your email, click here.

This offer is also good at Piranha’s locations in Arlington and Austin. See the full list of locations and hours.

Boo! I love Halloween … and not just because it’s one of the first holidays after we get a break from the sweltering hot weather in Texas! I love deals too, so here’s a listing of the specials you can take advantage of on and around Halloween.

Note: I have UPDATED this post as of 10/28/09. New entries are at the bottom in red.

Free Burrito at Chipotle. Show up at any Chipotle on Halloween from 6 p.m. to close dressed like a burrito, taco, bowl or salad, and you’ll get a free Chipotle burrito. Simple costume idea: Wrap some tin foil around your neck.Cheap Corn Dogs. Visit your local Sonic and get corn dogs for 50 cents each from 5-10 p.m. on Oct. 31.Free Taco. Get a free Black Jack Taco from Taco Bell from 6 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 31.Free Crafts. Go to any Michaels craft store on Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and your kids can get a free trick-or-treat pail, a free coloring activity, free Halloween frame and more.Free Ice Skating. Visit the Parks at Arlington mall from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 and skate for free. Wear your costume and be entered for prizes and other goodies.Free circus. If you go to Dallas; see this post for details.Free Halloween Goodies for Kids. At Bass Pro Shops on Oct. 30 and 31; click here for details.More Free Halloween Goodies. Kids can show up in costume at any Toys ‘R’ Us location from noon to 3 p.m. on Oct. 31 and get a free reusable Halloween bag, as well as goodies and other freebies (while supplies last). There will also be a costume parade with Geoffrey that they can participate in.Halloween Movie Event. Mellow Mushroom in Fort Worth at 3455 Bluebonnet Circle will be hosting a “Dark Side of the Shroom” event on Oct. 31 beginning at 7 p.m.; they’ll show the Wizard of Oz set to the music of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Drink specials, treats for the kids, and more.Free Halloween Photos. Skipping Stone Studio in Southlake will be taking photos of kids in costume on Oct. 29. The photos snapped will be entered into a contest sponsored by Society Kids Magazine, and you will receive a free 5×7. Call 817-424-0085 for details.Halloween Carnival. Come to Central Market in Fort Worth from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and have your kids participate in the store’s annual Halloween Carnival, which includes a scavenger hunt, bean bag toss, cookie decorating, and more.Fall Harvest. Whole Foods in Arlington will have a Fall Harvest party from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. This is a free event. Enjoy fall treats, live music and a kids’ costume contest at 2 p.m.Mall Trick or Treating. Grapevine Mills Mall will have a Trick or Treat event on Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. Enter at Entry 3. They are also having a “Halloween Fun” event beginning at 3.More Mall Stuff. At North East Mall in Hurst, members of the Simon Kidgits Club can get their pictures taken in costume from 3-6 p.m., courtesy of Picture People. (Kidgits memberships are $5 per year per kid; sign up here.) At 6 p.m., the mall will kick off its Halloween Happenings for the general kiddie public, which includes games, prizes, candy booths and more.Free Salmon Roll. Come to Piranha Killer Sushi on Oct. 31 in Arlington or Fort Worth, dressed in costume, and get a free wasabi salmon roll. You must bring this coupon.Free Pizza. Uno Chicago Grill in Fort Worth’s Sundance Square is offering free make-your-own pizzas for kids 12 and under on Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., when you buy an adult entree. They’ll also have Halloween goodies for giveaway.

Have you ever been to Zaxby’s? Where I am originally from – Alabama – they are hugely popular, but I haven’t seen as many locations here in Texas. So if you haven’t been to Zaxby’s yet, this week might be a good time. From Oct. 26 through Oct. 30 at their DFW locations, you can get a free Nibbler snack. The Nibbler is a snack-sized sandwich made of a classic Zaxby’s chicken finger topped with Zax Sauce and neatly tucked into a toasted bun. No purchase or coupon is required, but you do have to come inside (no drive thru pickups!) and the offer is limited to one Nibbler per person, per day.

In DFW, you can find Zaxby’s at 701 Keller Pkwy in Keller, 3181 Matlock Road in Mansfield, 526 Centennial Blvd. in Richardson and 4842 Main St. in The Colony. This offer is good only for these locations.

This is just one of the free offers that Zaxby’s will be rolling out over the next few weeks to say “thank you” to their loyal Texas customers. Stay tuned – I will post about the others in the coming days.

Click here for Zaxby’s full menu (PDF format). While you’re at their site, don’t forget to join their Zax Club e-mail list – you’ll get a coupon for a free meal deal when you sign up. Kids will want to join the Birthday Club - you get a free cookie card for joining, and a free Kidz Meal card mailed to you on your birthday

It’s that time of year again – the Carson & Barnes Circus is coming to North Texas, and if you go at the right time, you might be able to see it for free. Go to their website to download the tickets and print them. Here are the links to DFW-area shows. All have shows at both 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted:

Update 10/27/09: My friend pointed out to me that the fine print on the ticket says “Admit 1 Child or 1 Adult with Ticket Purchase of Equal or Greater Value.” I’m puzzled by this wording. After all, a ticket purchase equal to the value of a free ticket…is another free ticket. So you might be able to print off these tickets and get in completely for free. But maybe not. It might be more like a buy-one, get-one-free deal. So proceed with caution.

If you’re buying gifts for kids this holiday season, you’ll want to check out the coupons for Playskool and Hasbro toys that are available to print online right now. For example, you can print coupons for:

$10 off a Musical Sit & Spin (this is normally $20, so you get half off)
$2 off a Mr. Potato Head toy
$10 off a DinoRoars Stompers toy

So where do you get these coupons from? It’s easy. If you’re reading this in single-post format, just click the box at the end of this post that says “Save Big With Brand Name Coupons.” If you’re reading this from the homepage, just look to the middle column and scroll down a bit to find the same button.

I am not sure when the expiration dates on these are, but if you combine them with a sale at a major retailer like Target or Wal-Mart, you could score a great deal.

Have you ever tried JCPenney’s Ship to Store program? I like it because it gives you access to some things that your local JCP store may not have, but it’s cheaper than paying to have the online store ship it to your house. It’s also very easy – just go to the catalog desk at the back and pick up your items.

I just got a card in the mail this week offering free ship-to-store service from their website or catalog to any JCP store in the DFW Metroplex. You must make a minimum purchase of $49 to qualify for this offer. Just enter the code 49FORYOU at checkout, and be sure to select ”ship to store” and choose a JCP location within DFW. The special doesn’t apply to clearance or outlet items, Online Daily Deals, truck deliveries, express deliveries, or services. Offer good through Oct. 22.

If you’re a regular to La Madeleine, consider buying their “Card for the Cause.” This is a card that costs $35, but the proceeds go to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and you can receive 10 percent off your La Madeleine purchases for a year, plus other special offers. Buy the card at any LM location, then go here to register it.

Be sure to join their eClub – when you sign up, you’ll get a coupon for a free petite Caesar Salade or a cup of Tomato Basil Soupe.

Every cheapskate knows that the key to budget-friendly holiday shopping is to START EARLY. If you get your shopping done long before Hanukkah or Christmas Eve, you’ll not only save yourself headaches, you’ll save yourself some money too, because you can watch for specials and deals. So, throughout the holiday season, I’ll be making weekly posts about bargain-priced presents. Sometimes I may give you a heads up on a terrific online deal, and other times I may let you know about a great sale going on at a brick-and-mortar establishment. Or I might include info on sales on holiday decor, holiday food, and other items that come in handy this time of year. You can quickly find the posts by clicking on the “Holiday” category near the bottom of the page.

If you find a great deal, you can let me know about it by dropping me an e-mail – see the “contact” link.